Metal Sawhorses

[Monte Bennett]

Years ago when I had a small shed and a set of saw horses would fill half the shed so I made a pair of metal ones that I could easily disassemble and hang on the wall. I simply cut four lengths of 3/4" pipe and using a pipe bender I bent them to the maximum bend possible on the bender. Then I cut some short lengths of metal square tube with good wall thickness and welded them on the side of the pipe at an angle that the legs had a 15 degree spread. I then cut the next size up of metal square tube to slide over the stub piece on the legs to function as the main support. For metal working I flip the cross bar to metal side up and for wood working I screw a 2x4 sections to the cross bars. I have additional cross bars to work with wider projects like gates and fence panels. For people working on sites with pickup and Utes these are far easier to transport. I have used a 4x8 ply sheet to make a great workbench during other projects as well. I made a set of leg extensions to work on uneven ground for another project. If you weld a cross piece on one or two of the leg sets these can be used as a step when you put a scaffold plank on it to clean the house gutters or for painting. Using a couple 2x4s you can use them for stands to cut the gyprock sheets to size and shape. It is surprising how much weight you can load on them. The only thing that has bent the. Is a forklift reversing against the leg several years ago.

[Jon]

Hi Monte - welcome to HomemadeTools.net

Post some pics of the sawhorses, we'd love to take a look.

[Monte Bennett]

I used 1 length of 3/4" med gal pipe cut into four equal lengths and using a pipe bender I bent the pipe until the legs were 700 mm apart. Then I cut 4 lengths of 25 x 3 square hollow tube into 180 mm lengths then hole saw drilled a half circle hole close to the end - can put two pieces together to cut easier. After prepping the weld I set the 25x3 stubs on the top of the pipe legs and set a jig to hold the legs correct for all four welds. the bottom of the legs is offset 250 mm from the top to get a good legs angle. I used a 30 x 2 mm square hollow tube and cut pairs of various lengths of cross bars that slide over the legs stubs. You can make a locking mechanism to hold the bars on the legs but I have very rarely had a problem with the bars separating from the legs. if you want to use for woodworking you can tek screw or bolt a timber piece onto the cross bar. I have a set of roller supports I can attach to the cross bar to support timber while using the table saw or drill press. The leg extensions for sloping ground are shown under the sawhorses. Other leg extensions can be made to adapt the sawhorses to match workbench/table heights to allow large projects to be worked on. I have used 25 mm pipe lengths as cross bars while making pipe and mesh panels 2400 x 2400 square. I have a set of hooks to hang these on the wall out of the way while not in use. They work great when the weather is fine and you want to work outside by putting a large plywood sheet on them to use as a worktable - especially for house projects.

[DIYer]

Thanks Monte Bennett! We've added your Metal Sawhorse to our Sawhorses category,
as well as to your builder page: Monte Bennett's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Metal Sawhorse by Monte Bennett

tags: sawhorse

[Turboconqueringmegaeagle]

these are lovely, light and stack-able, not that that is too important as they are also collapsible

[Monte Bennett]

Thanks. They are great for taking to construction sites as they take little room with the loading but have the capacity to extend in size for larger jobs. This set has lasted for 30+ years and have acquired many coats of paint over the years. Once used they make it hard to go back to standard designs. And the collapsible ones in the hardware stores would collapse under the loads these carry. I have had more than 300 pounds of weight on the set of two without any flex so they are far stronger than they look.

[olouttt]

Hi there!
I'm considering buying a set of general purpose foldable sawhorses for around the house use. Currently have two options in mind for reasonable price (WORX WX065 and Hitachi Heavy Duty Saw Horse basing upon reviews here). They won't get hard use, but need to be stable when needed.

[Monte Bennett]

All good - good website for reviews. There were very few over the counter options like these when I needed them 30+ years ago hence the effort to make them so they fit in a tiny shed and allowed me to build far bigger sheds, patios and farm gates. The more I use them the more I find a use for them. The main selection criteria is that they are suitable for all the projects you expect to use them for in all the years ahead. Building a better future requires robust tools that last the years of hard Yakka to see you succeed in your endeavors.